Transformable Reflective Telescope for optical testing and education

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the Transformable Reflective Telescope (TRT) kit for educational purposes and for performing various optical tests with a single kit. The TRT kit is a portable optical bench setup suitable for interferometry, spectroscopy, measuring stray light, and developing adaptive optics, among other uses. Supplementary modules may be integrated easily due to the modular design of the TRT kit. The kit consists of five units: a primary mirror module, secondary mirror module, mounting base module, baffle module, and alignment module. Precise alignment and focusing are achieved using a precision optical rail on the alignment module. The TRT kit transforms into three telescope configurations: Newtonian, Cassegrain, and Gregorian. Students change telescope configurations by exchanging the secondary mirror. The portable design and the aluminum primary mirror of the TRT kit enable students to perform experiments in various environments. The minimized baffle design utilizes commercial telescope tubes, allowing users to look directly into the optical system while suppressing stray light down to ∼ 10 − 8 point source transmittance. The TRT kit was tested using a point source and field images. Point source measurement of the Newtonian telescope configuration resulted in an 80% encircled energy diameter of 23.8 µm.